Motivating Adolescents with Technology to CHOOSE Health (MATCH) is a research-tested intervention designed to improve nutrition, physical activity (PA), and overall health in 7th grade students using a combined educational-behavioral approach. The approach integrates an interdisciplinary curriculum of wellness-themed lessons with individual skill-building, tasks, and motivational strategies for making positive health choices and behaviors. Created by a teacher to work within the existing school day, MATCH integrates wellness themes, focusing on nutrition education and increasing physical activity, into lessons and activities taught in Science, Math, Language Arts, Social Studies and Healthful living. Through these interdisciplinary lessons, 7th graders learn why it is important to consider health and wellness now, and that the choices they make today will impact their health in the future. MATCH also meets educational objectives and the needs of our teachers and administrators, without creating more work. MATCH provides student workbooks and a web-based data management system for access to real-time data, training videos, lesson plans and PDFs, presentations and teacher keys, all while simultaneously producing wellness outcomes among students.
- Evaluated
MATCH addresses several levels of the socio-ecologic model: (1) individual through educational materials and instruction along with individualized behavioral modification, (2) interpersonal through interactions, activities, and observational learning with peers and teachers, (3) organizational (school) through classroom instruction, activities, and monitoring, and (4) family and community influences through children sharing knowledge and positive changes in dietary and PA habits with their families. MATCH is designated “research tested” by the Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT).